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Witch, The (2015)

Review #1,302

THE SCOOPDirector: Robert EggersCast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate DickiePlot: A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.Genre: Horror / MysteryAwards: Won Best Director (Sundance).Runtime: 92minRating: M18 for disturbing violent content and graphic nudity.International Sales: WME GlobalDistributor: United International Pictures (Singapore)IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)

“Wouldst thou like to
live deliciously?”

If
you are into horror, you must watch The
Witch. Even if you are not, such is
the craft of Robert Eggers' first feature that you will find it remarkable for
its precision and economy. It's a
filmmaker's film, an endeavour that calls attention to its artistry, yet very
well immerses the viewer into its self-contained world of inexplicable
terror.

Running
at only about 90 minutes, The Witch
is slow-burning, but extremely well-paced.
There is no wasted scene, and every shot is put to good use. Winning Best Director at the Sundance Film
Festival, The Witch markets itself as
a ‘New England folktale’, centering on witchcraft, black magic and possession—rather
familiar elements of the genre. It is,
however, unlike what you have seen before.

Shot
in Ontario in Canada, the sweeping landscape of open fields and deep woods have
an eerie quality to it. Isolated in this
seemingly otherworldly space, a family banished to the wilderness tries to
survive, but faces an unprecedented chain of events when Samuel, their baby,
disappears despite being under watch by Thomasin, the eldest daughter.

The
supernatural seems to pervade the family, but Eggers’ grounded storytelling
style and earthy cinematography—it was also largely shot in natural lighting—give
The Witch a strong sense of realism,
as if anything that is unexplainable could be believable in that world. This is the 1630s, a time when historical
records were believed to have archived instances of witchcraft and the
existence of witches.

With
the film adopting a language best categorized as early modern English—you will
get your fix of ‘thees’ and ‘thous’—there is a conscious effort by Eggers to
create tension through his characters’ verbal engagement with faith and God, or
lack thereof.

Coupled
with the film's deliberately unsettling sound design, and a truly terrifying,
largely strings and choral heavy score—percussion and drums are used to
stunning effect only in the epilogue, The
Witch is no doubt one of the most bone-chilling horror films to come out in
the last few years.

Verdict: Eggers’ first feature is remarkable in its
precision and economy, and no doubt one of the most bone-chilling horror films
to come out in the last few years.